Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer).

In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

nature.com Subject Pages

User tools

Molecular biology

Definition

Molecular Biology is the field of biology that studies the composition, structure and interactions of cellular molecules  such as nucleic acids and proteins  that carry out the biological processes essential for the cells functions and maintenance.

The 3.8-Å cryo-EM structure of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae small-subunit processome in a state that precedes pre-rRNA cleavage at site A1 provides an essentially complete near-atomic model of this assembly.

A highly photostable RNA mimic of red fluorescent protein, Corn, was designed and used to image RNA polymerase III transcription. Quantitative imaging of Corn-tagged transcripts revealed transcription dynamics in live cells following mTOR inhibition.

The 2017 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award was awarded to Michael N. Hall (Biozentrum, University of Basel, Switzerland) “for discoveries concerning the nutrient-activated TOR proteins and their central role in the metabolic control of cell growth”.